Calf Multiband Compressor- S and Q

[Monospace]

I am a Windows user, not a Linux user. Ideally I wouldn't ask these questions on a Linux music forum, but Calf is technically Linux gear and I don't know anywhere else I can ask, where someone will have a better clue.
I use LMMS, which has the Calf studio effects bundled with it.
One of these effects is the Calf Multiband Compressor.

What do S1, S2, S3, Q1, Q2, and Q3 represent?

Trying to search the internet, the only information I can find is in the form of an LMMS forum post that says S is saturation, Q is resonance. I do not know the source of this information, however.

In this case, what exactly is the filter in question whose resonance is boosted? ie, How does Q work and on which filter?
Also, what does saturation mean here?

Thanks!

[j_e_f_f_g]

You can chop up the audio signal into 4 frequency ranges. (ie, You can individually compress 4 different freq ranges). I'll call them Bypass, ByPass 1, ByPass 2, and ByPass 3 since the buttons to enable/disable them are labeled that way.

ByPass compresses frequencies of 1 to however high you set that filter's range. In other words, it's the lowest frequency range.

ByPass 1 is the next lowest range. It starts at whatever freq ByPass stops at. And it goes up to however high you set that filter's range.

ByPass 2 starts where ByPass 1 stops, and goes up to however high you set that filter's range.

ByPass 3 starts where ByPass 2 stops, and goes up to... well however high the filter can go. In other words, it's the highest frequency range.

There is a separate saturation and q for each of the ranges (except for the lowest range, which automatically covers what the other 3 don't). S1 and Q1 set the saturation and Q for ByBass 1. S2 and Q2 set the saturation and Q for ByBass 2. And S3 and Q3 set the saturation and Q for ByBass 3.

Saturation effectively sets the frequency range of the filter. As you increase it, the filter affects more higher freqs. And as you decrease it, the filter's upper range shrinks. This is how you set which freq range each filter compresses. The Q effectively sets how strongly the filter compresses frequencies around the center of the range. Smaller values compress evenly over the entire freq range. Higher values compress the freqs in the middle more than the freqs at the low and high points of the range.

[Monospace]

So Saturation is like the Frequency control on a filter and Q is just the resonance like an equalizer?? Thanks!
I notice that S and Q affect sound even if each band is disabled. So this means they're independent of compression?

[j_e_f_f_g]

S and Q affect sound even if each band is disabled. So this means they're independent of compression?

Not really. When you set a range to "bypass", you're saying:

"Don't compress this range of frequencies. Leave them the same as the original waveform."


It's essentially the same as setting that range's compression ratio 1:1.

That's how you select frequencies you don't want compressed.

Of course, when you change that range's S and Q, you expand/shrink it. In other words, you're changing what is and isn't being compressed. So that affects the result.